


Say When

by ThePendragonQueen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BP!Lance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Keith x Lance - Freeform, Laith, Langst, Leader! Lance, Light Angst, Lions, M/M, Oneshot, PINING KEITH, Ship, Songfic, The Garrison - Freeform, Voltron, Whump, based on a song by the fray, black paladin lance, klance, klangst, otp, pining lance, say when, their past, together, young keith, young lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 20:36:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18185438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePendragonQueen/pseuds/ThePendragonQueen
Summary: After realizing Shiro was a clone Lance becomes black paladin and attempts to lead the coalition to victory. Keith quickly realizes that they’ve put too much pressure on this young, beautiful boy. He needed their help as much as they needed his. All he had to do was say when. Based on the song Say When by the Fray





	Say When

Keith walked through the halls of the Galaxy Garrison. Iverson has just kicked him out and it might just be because he had possibly blinded him in one eye but those were unnecessary details. As he walked out of the classroom he saw three kids talking excitedly together.

Nothing about them seemed important but Keith's eyes laid on one particular boy. He was tall and tan with short brown hair that had choppy bangs. He didn't know where he came from but he couldn't help but stare. Something about him was catching his gaze and holding it. Keith watched as the boy turned to the side to look at the smaller kid. His eyes were a blue that reminded Keith of an ocean or the sky. They were hypnotic.

The boy seemed unaware that Keith had stopped dead in his tracks to stare at him. Deep in thought, Keith wondered what the boy's name was. He wondered if he would ever get the chance to know it. Keith contemplated going up to him but the boy didn't appear to care that Keith had ever even seen him. Plus, Keith was on his way out and was probably never coming back in.

It wasn't until a couple months later when Keith saw the blue eyed boy again. He had spent all those months investigating the strange pull he had felt. That's when Shiro crashed and Keith couldn't have been more extatic. Rushing over to help him out he watched as the blue eyed boy ran up and grabbed Shiros other arm.

"Who are you?" Keith asked. It came out harsher than he meant. Keith wanted to get to know this boy but his seemingly emotionless heart and awkward social capabilities never allowed him to address his feelings properly.

"Uh, the name's Lance," the boy snapped back. _Lance._ He finally had a name for the blue eyed boy.

At first the two were constantly at odds with each other. Constantly arguing and bickering even about the smallest things. Keith blamed it on his inability to properly process his feelings. Slowly things got better. They were still competitive and argued but it wasn't as bad.

And then Shiro went missing. Again. And Keith was forced to become Black Paladin. And Lance, Lance was the first one to step up, the first one to accept Keith as the new leader even when he still hadn't. And he became his right hand man.

And then that faithful day when Lance came knocking on his door, worrying about there now being too many Paladins with Allura now piloting Blue. If Shiro were to come back, he was willing to step aside.

Keith's heart ripped in half. Lance considered himself the worst Paladin, the least important, the most replaceable. Keith had been quick to try to squash his worries. He didn't want him feeling like that. He still had feelings for him and as time had progressed, it almost seemed as if Lance did too. Maybe they would get their happy ending after all.

And then Shiro came back and Keith left for the Blade of Marmoa, determined to help them out, determined that the team no longer needed him, determined that Lance belonged in the Red Lion.

Keith seemed to be proved correct. Even though he had been gone he continued to secretly keep tabs on the team. Something was wrong with Shiro and Lance was the first to figure it out. A clone, they decided. One created and used by Haggar when she had captured Shiro all those months ago. They got rid of him in a heartbeat.

And suddenly, they were once again left without a Black Paladin. When Keith had heard about all this he had decided to return to the team. They were down a Paladin again. Everyone assumed Keith would return to Black but when he walked over Black refused to open up to him. The connection wasn't there, not like it had been before.

Keith slowly walked up to Lance, a grim look on his face. "Lance... I think you need to check," he spoke slowly.

He watched as Lance slowly rose from his seat in the break room and walked out the door. Keith silently followed behind. They walked into Blacks hangar and sure enough as Lance neared the Black Lion started to hum excitedly.

Keith watched as Lance sat down in the pilots chair. Suddenly everything came to life. The lions eyes glowed brightly. Black has chosen her new Paladin and his name was Lance.

Keith smiled brightly. For so long Lance had been the one on the side lines. The Paladin no one seemed to care about, the one who was constantly tossed aside. Now, in front of his eyes, Keith was watching Lance step into his new position- one he deserved and had grown perfectly into. Lance had been the song playing in the background all along but now was his time and he was turning up louder than ever before.

Lance was apprehensive at first. To him it didn't feel right. It felt like something was missing, like he shouldn't be there. Everyone knew that he was exactly were he was supposed to be.

Lance quickly stepped into his position as the new Black Paladin and leader of Voltron. In what seemed like no time the team was completing missions and saving more planets than ever before. All across the Universe word of Lance the Black Paladin, Leader of Voltron, had spread. There were stories about him. They called him their savior. They respected him.

They had gone to another meeting to make new alliances. Before entering there had been a ceremony to welcome them. They had all entered and the others clapped and cheered but it was Lance that got them truly excited. As Lance walked in everyone's head snapped to stare at him. They quieted and stood abruptly, rising to meet Lance, The Black Paladin of Voltron. The one and only.

Lance gave a steady smile. He looked calm and collected. Lance had changed from the young, immature boy Keith had seen that first time in the hallways of the Galaxy Garrison but he was still just as beautiful as that day. His shoulders were pushed back to display confidence yet he was still so warm and welcoming. People rushed up to him to say 'hello' and pay their respects for his leadership.

Lance finished shaking hands and greeting people and turned to look at Keith. He started walking towards him, his breath slow and steady. Keith's heart beat fast. He was breaking down in front of him. Keith decided that all Lance would ever have to do was say the word and he would be his man in a heartbeat. He would comfort him day and night, make sure he was okay and his thoughts of self hatred were keeping at bay. And if it were to come down to it Keith would gladly carry Lance back to wherever he needed to go. All Lance had to do was say when.

Lance pulled Keith aside to an empty room to talk to him. "Keith, I'm worried. They want to fight against the Galra, they want an all out attack. That's not the way to go but they won't listen to me," he said worryingly.

Keith took a step towards him and gulped. "Make them listen. Make them understand the costs."

Lance bit his lips in agitation and took a step closer. "Maybe... I'll try again," lance said smiling back.

Keith took a step closer to the new leader. A single thought ran through Keith's mind. _What if I just... kissed him?_ Keith thought about it as he and Lance seemed to get closer and closer to each other. They had been opening up to each other and learning new things. Everyday that passed they had gotten closer-

 _No._ Keith thought. He couldn't just kiss him, especially with everyone else here. This was an important meeting, Lance needed his mind focused on the meeting, not him. And the idea of kissing Lance made Keith's head swirl. They both had their own problems, their own ghosts, to deal with. They couldn't cause anymore.

They both stopped abruptly, inches away from each other's face. It was like they both had the same thought, _no further, no nearer._

Maybe it was for the best. Things flip and turn into chaos quickly. Their heads needed to be in the war, not in each other's feelings. There was no time for their love.

Despite this, Keith made a silent promise to himself. If Lance ever needed help or comfort in anyway, Keith would be the first one next to him. He would drop everything and help him. All Lance had to do was say when.

A couple hours later the party had more or less calmed down. They had just finished their meeting with the other leaders of the planets. Keith was about to walk up to Lance when he saw him get pulled aside for a talk with one of the leaders.

Keith frowned in disappointment but continued walking out of the room with the others. He had wandered around a bit, trying to mingle and be as nice as possible but he was getting tired of being sociable. After a while Keith decided _screw it_ , and walked away from the party.

He walked aimlessly through the long, twisting hallways of the castle on the alien planet they had decided to have the meeting in. Keith sipped his alien drink slowly, thinking about everything they had gone through, were going through, and still had to go through. It seemed like a lot.

Keith's mind froze his thoughts as he thought he heard something. He turned the corner and his eyes locked on to Lance, crumpled on the floor, body pulled in on himself.

Keith dropped his drink and it splattered in the floor. Without caring if he made a mess he ran towards Lance. He quickly bent down next to him.

"Lance?" He asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Keith wrapped his arm around Lance and forced him to slowly look up at him. Lance's eyes were red and puffy, streaks of tears shown on his cheeks. Keith tried to hug him and calm him but it didn't seem to work. Everything about Lance seemed lost and broken. It made Keith's heart rip in half.

"Lance. Lance, calm down. It's okay," Keith cooed I'm his ear. Only once had Keith ever seen Lance like this and it still wasn't this bad. He wasn't sure what had happened but he was going to kick whoever's ass had done this to him.

Slowly Lance's crying came to a shaky stop. He looked at Keith dazed, as if trying to focus on who was there with him. Keith kept talking to him but he still hadn't spoken.

Lance's whole body started to shake. It was like compulsions were running through him. Keith placed a hand on his shoulder but it didn't seem to help. Lance's hands shook uncontrollably in his lap.

"Lance, what happened?" Keith tried again. He needed Lance to just focus and talk to him.

Lance hiccuped and took a deep breath before trying to talk. "They- They're coming back," he stuttered

Keith looked at him confused. "Who, Lance? Who's coming back?"

Lance shook his head. "I don't know w-when."

"Who?" Keith questioned again.

"Th-them. They keep p-pressuring me. They don't stop. I j-just want them t-to stop," Lance cried desperately. His whole body shook and his throat let out a strangled sob. It was like he wanted to cry but nothing would come out.

"Lance, it's okay, we'll figure this out," Keith cooed next to him.

Lance shook his head vigorously. "I always knew this would happen. I'm not meant to be a leader, I'm not meant to be the black Paladin, I'm not- I'm not-" Lance broke down again, shoving his head between his knees as he desperately rubbed at his face.

Keith placed a steady hand on Lances shaky one. "Lance, that's not true. You're the best leader the universe has ever seen. You were meant to be the black Paladin."

Lance shook his head. "Shiro was better. You were better."

"Lance, I was terrible," Keith admitted. "The only reason I ever became the leader was because Shiro wanted me too and you weren't ready for it yet. You still had a lot to learn, a lot to grow into and overcome. That's why I left the team, you deserved to be in red and be next in line more than I did. You were a better leader than me."

"It doesn't matter," Lance mumbled sadly. "They want war. They want to strike now. They won't listen to me. They're insistent on it. It's not a good idea, we're not ready!"

"Then don't let them," Keith stated back firmly. "They want to fight but you know it's not a good idea. Don't let them. Stand up to them and tell them no. They're going to keep pushing until you give in or say when to stop. So tell them to stop. Tell them no."

Lance looked up at Keith, his eyes still as blue as the first day he had seen him. "Do you think it'll work?" He asked desperately.

"You have to try," Keith reassured with a smile.

They didn't have time to say anything else. A loud bang came from the outside. Lance quickly rushed to his feet to check out the window that was across the hall. Just like that Lance seemed to forget about his own problems. Something else was happening and now he had to focus on that. Keith had always been amazed at his selfless attitude.

Lance peered out the window, trying to figure out what had happened. Outside the wind was blowing harder than Keith had ever seen. Rain came pouring down as thunder made the ground rumble. It looked like a hurricane.

They both jumped as another bang came from the outside. Something was being blown at them. A gust of wind appeared and blew a large piece of metal at the window causing it to crack and shatter open. Lance raised his arms in front of his face just in time to block the glass from hitting his face.

The wind which was now blowing harder than ever before, continued to throw the broken glass in his direction. Lance tried to step back but the wind pushed him down and he slid across the floor with the shattered glass.

Keith quickly ran up to Lance, using his arm to block himself from the wind and debris. "Lance!" He shouted as he pulled Lance away from the window as much as possible.

Lance stood up, cuts spreading across his body, his arms bloody and his clothes ripped. Lance didn't speak. He just grabbed Keith's hand and ran towards the main room.

"Get down!" He yelled as he entered the room. Everyone stopped to stare at him. They seemed unaware of the storm outside. "There's a huge storm coming, we need to prepare as quick as possible."

Everyone quickly scrambled around, shouting and frantically trying to find their friends and loved ones. Their voices melded together causing a large clump of noise in the room.

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. "Everyone stop!" He shouted. Everyone fell dead in their tracks and turned to look at him. "We have to stay calm. I need windows borded up, doors locked, and I need someone to contact the rest of the citizens on this planet to let them know that they need to do the same," he ordered as he assigned jobs to everyone.

No one seemed to have a problem except for one, the large alien who was king of this planet. "Who are you to tell me what to do with my planet? You don't boss my people around!" He shouted angrily at Lance.

Lance's mouth twisted into a thin line. "I am the Black Paladin, Leader of Voltron. I am helping you and your planet and all that live on it. If you wanted to take control then you should have but you did not so now I am here to aid everyone in staying safe. I would advise you to listen to my orders as quickly as possible rather then questioning me. This is for the safety of your people," he said firmly. The alien stared at Lance with wide eyes before nodding and heading off to tell his citizens of the storm.

Keith smiled at Lance. "See? Natural born leader."

Lance smiled and shook his head. They didn't have much time to relax before Pidge came running up to them.

"It's not a storm!" She shouted. "I mean it is but, it's the Galra! They started this! They used this weather device to stir up the atmosphere and create this disasterous storm-"

"Pidge," Lance said cutting her off. "How do we stop it?"

"We have to take down the control panel. They have it in one of the ships up there. I can create a device that will help us track it down. If we don't do it quick then this whole planet will be destroyed!" She shouted.

"Grab the others. Tell them to go to their Lions. We're going up," Lance ordered. Pidge nodded and ran off to find Hunk and Allura.

Keith and Lance turned on their heels and sprinted towards their lions. By the time they had gotten into their lions the other three were sprinting in through the door. They quickly scrambled into their lions and took off into the storm.

The lions are big and heavy but the wind was strong. Pidge and Keith, having the smallest lions, kept getting knocked off course as they struggled to fight against the wind. The higher they went the harder it got to control their lions.

"C'mon, c'mon," Keith grumbled as he fought with the controls to keep his lion from being blown away. They finally broke through the atmosphere and into space where they found a large purple ship sending out signals to the planet.

"There! It's that one!" Pidge shouted.

"The whole ship?" Hunk asked. He had apparently been expecting something a little smaller and Keith couldn't blame him, he had too.

"Attack the ship, we need to take it down," Lance ordered.

As they neared, fighter pilots began to pour out to attack them. They all blasted down as many as possible. Keith cursed. Zarkon. It was always Zarkon. Every war, they all begin with a man who wants more, who has one country or planet but wants to rule more. They're never satisfied with what they have.

Zarkons plan had been going for over 10,000 years and it would turn another century if they didn't try to stop him. They were working it out but it took time. Slowly another one of their nations and bases would fall and the coalition would hold more power but every once in a while one of their own nations would fall and severely damage the coalition. That was the worst, when they lost one of their own.

After a couple minutes of fighting they were finally able to shoot down the control system and the weather on the planet siezed. They all flew back down and landed their lions. As they got out everyone cheered, they always did. They all smiled and waved back, happy to save another planet but annoyed that this kept happening. They were tired of fighting in the war. They just wanted to go home to their families.

Lance did a round of 'thank you's' from the others before grabbing Keith and slipping away. Keith let Lance drag him down a hallway. Shattered glass littered the floor along with various debris.

"You did great today," Keith said with a smile. "I told you you were meant to be leader."

Lance smiled but it didn't seem sincere. He opened his mouth to say something but then stopped a second, thinking, before going. "How come some of us never get it so good?" He asked looking at Keith confused.

Keith thought for a second. "I don't know. Maybe it's just not meant to be," he shrugged.

Lance's shoulders fell. "I- I just wanna go home, Keith. I wanna see my _mamá_ and my siblings and my _abuela._ I just wanna go back to Earth. I want everything to be alright. I want this war to end."

Keith lowered his head sadly. He wanted the same thing. Granted, he had no family to go back to but this war took a toll on everyone. Seeing Lance so broken up, Keith wanted to fix it for him.

"I don't know when it will end, if ever," Keith admitted. "Some of this was here before us and all of it will go after us. Maybe it'll never stop."

Lance's face fell. "But... Earth..."

"We'll see it again, I promise."

Lance's hands shook again as tears started to form in his eyes. "When will it stop?"

Keith shrugged. "When you give in. Or when you say when. On your word we attack. All of the coalition, all of our forces attack Zarkons main ship. It's on your command."

Lance let out a strangled cry. "I don't wanna be the one to make that decision," he cried desperately.

"Then we'll make it together," Keith said, laying a hand on Lances back. "We'll decide the right time together, as a team."

Lance smiled brightly but the tears continued to roll down his face. Something else was wrong and Keith was pretty sure he knew what. Lance had been dealing with his own internal battles. The struggle of being good enough and being what the universe needed. Leading the universe into victory was hard enough, doing it with low self-esteem and feeling alone made it even harder.

Lance wasn't alone. He had Keith and the rest of the team. But it was hard for Lance to wrap his mind around that. He had always felt like the worst, like he could be better. His start of team Voltron didn't help. Everyone was always getting on his case, telling him to shut up, to be serious, to stop joking around, to be better. It took a toll on him they never meant.

Clone Shiro had made it even worse. He had torn Lance apart inside. He yelled at him, tried to brake him before he could become leader. Lance was strong, though. Even through all his emotions and sadness he had managed to realize that something was wrong with Shiro. Managed to set aside his own feelings to deal with the others. He had shoved his away and locked them up until he thought he had the time to address them.

But the war had lasted longer than he had anticipated and now, with the other leaders pushing him to make this fatal decision on when to fight Zarkon, it had all become too much. And now he was standing here in front of Keith, eyes tearing up as he broke down.

Keith put his hands on his shoulder supportively and Lance gave way. His emotions overflowed and he collapsed into Keith.

Keith slowly brought them both down on to the floor where Lance laid on Keith's shoulder as he smoothed his hand over Lances hair to calm him down.

"Shh, it's okay, you're okay," Keith cooed into his ear. He continued to run his hand through Lances hair in a comforting way.

"I- I want your help. I _need_ your help," Lance started. Keith was going to tell him to stop talking, it was fine, but Lance kept going. "Keith, I need _you._ "

Keiths heart skipped a beat as Lance's words rang in his ears. Had he finally admitted what they had been dancing around this entire time?

"We all need you too, buddy," Keith said lowly. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

Lance shook his head into Keith's shoulder. "No, _I_ need _you_. I've been so scared but, Keith, I really need you now. I've needed you and your help for a while but it's gotten so much worse. It's stressful and I don't know what to do and-" Lance broke down as he started to sob again.

Keith patted his back gently as he held the crying boy in his arms. Keith decided he would carry him across the universe if he ever had to. "I know, Lance. I need you too. And if you ever want my help or anything all you have to do is say when," Keith comforted him as he held him tightly.

Lance hugged him back just as tight. His knuckles were turning white from the grip he had on Keith. Lance gulped before speaking.

" _Now_ ," He said and then broke down into tears. "Now."

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll,,, I like this one. It's never been one of my most popular but I am very proud of it. Probably bc I like the song a lot and whenever I listen to it I picture these two so it was nice to actually write my daydreams out. I hope you guys liked it half as much as I do.


End file.
